The Middle Ear Mechanics in Research and Otology (MEMRO) Conference will the fifth International meeting and it will be held in June of 2009 at the Stanford University campus. The purpose of previous triennial meetings has been to bring together experts in clinical otology, middle ear scientists, as well as engineers in order to foster an exchange between these related but often isolated groups. A goal of the 2009 meeting will be to continue to facilitate the free exchange of ideas between these groups and to provided a stimulus and impetus for new collaborative efforts, which will ultimately lead to discoveries about the normal, diseased, and rehabilitated middle ear. The theme for the proposed 2009 meeting will be 'Middle ear technologies', which is timely because there are emerging technological innovations that could benefit from a collective discussion between the different multidisciplinary groups. Repair of middle ear pathologies is one of the most common surgical procedures performed by ear surgeons and there is a critical need to improve our understanding of the mechanics of the middle ear in healthy and pathological ears. The planned conference will be of interest to basic scientists, otolaryngologists, engineers, as well as residents and students. Collaborations between these different groups of researchers and practitioners will, as has been shown to be the case in past, lead to improvements in diagnosis and therapy of middle ear diseases.